Dining-table.



E. G. PENNY.

DINING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-24,1913.

Patented Aug. 1?, 1915.

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DINING-TABLE.

manner.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915..

Application filed April 24, 1913. Serial No. 763,412.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE GRIssoM PENNY, a citizen of the United States,'re siding at Durham, in the county of Durham and State of North Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dining- Tables, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in tables and more especially to dining tables, and the primary object of the invention is to provide an improved table which saves thetime and labor usually required in car-- rying dishes to and from the table before and after meals, the improved table having a top, a section of which is movable vertically from a position on the same level with the top to a position below the top,

whereby the table top presents a flat surface similar to the ordinary dining table, when used as such, and after such usc,'the dishes after being placed on the vertically movable section are lowered to a position below the table top. Hinged'leaves or top sections are preferably provided which, when extended form parts of the table top, and when folded, overlie and cover the opening above the dishes or the depressed section, the tablebeing then adapted for general uses and the dishes covered and protected. This invention also provides improved means for raising and lowering the vertically movable section and for locking or retaining said section in each of its two positions, such means being operable conveniently and by one hand of the person using the same.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more full described the novel features being pointed out particularly in the claim at the end of the specification. r i

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a table constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. '2 represents a longitudinal section of the table showing, in full lines, the vertically movable section in elevated position and the hinged leaves extended, and showing by the dotted lines, the vertically movable section in lowered position with the hinged leaves in folded or closed position; Fig. 3 represents a transverse section through'the table showing, by the full and dotted lines respectively, the two positions of the ver tically movable section.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several views.

The present invention is applicable generally to tables of different constructions. In the present instance, the table comprises a base 1 having legs 2, and the center of the base 1 has a chamber which is inclosed by the longitudinal walls 3 and end walls 4, the chamber'inclosed by these walls forming a compartment adapted to contain articles. such as dishes, when the same are not in us A table top section 5 is provided which fits and operates vertically within the walls of said chamber, suchzscction being movable from an upper position, as shown by the full lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, to a lower position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. This vertically movabletop section operates between a pair of guides 6 and 7, these guides being secured to and projecting below the table base 1. The section 5 is PIT vided with a pair of slides 8 and 9 which cooperate with the guides 6 and 7 and thereby insure a correct movement of the adjustable section and maintain it in level position. The table top section 5 is raised and lowered preferably by a lever 10 which, in the present instance, is pivoted at one end to the guide 6 by the pivot pin 11, and the opposite end of the lever is provided with a slot 12 through which the guide 7 operates, the portion 13 of the lever which projects beyond the guide 7 providing a handle where by the lever is operated. The outer side'of the guide 7 is formed with-an arc-shaped surface 14 having notches or depressions l5 and 16 toward its opposite ends, and a dog 17 is carried by the lever 10 and is adapted to coijperate with either of these notches in order to lock or retain the adjustable table top section in elevated or lowered position. Preferably, the dog 17 is fit ed in the slot 12 of the lever and has corners or projections 18 and 19 located above and below the lever, respectively, and adapted to codperatc witl' the shoulders offered by the notches 15 and 16, as shown by the full and dotted lines in Fig; 3. A handle 20 is provided on the under side of the dog which is adapted to be grasped by the finger for the purpose of disengaging the dog from the upper notch 15 when it is desirable to lower the adjustable table top section. The lever 10 is connected to the adjustable table top section by a link 21 which is preferably midway between the guides 6 and 7.

A pair of topsections 22 and 23 are fixed to the base 1 at opposite ends of the central chamber therein, and the edges of these top sections adjacent the table are preferably undercut, as at 2% and 25, while the ends of the adjustable table top section are also correspondingly beveled, these undercut and beveled surfaces cooperating to form an abutment when the adjustable table top section 5 is lifted to a position where its upper surface is flush with the top of the table, and when the top section 5 occupies this position, it will be locked by the dog 17 engaging in the upper notch 15. A pair of hinged top sections 26 and 27 are also provided at the sides of the table. These hinged sections, when extended or opened, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are flush with the top of the adjustable section 5 and the end sections 22 and 28, the entire top of the table being then smooth and continuous and may be used in the usual way as a dining table. By placing all the dishes or articles uponthe vertically adjustable top section 5 and then lowering this section to the dotted line position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the dishes or articles will be carried into the central chamber which is below the table top, and by folding the hinged leaves or table top sections 26 and 27 inwardly, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the chamber containopening flush with the top and also capable of occupying a position below the top, a pair of vertical guides cooperative with said section, one of said guides being formed with a notched sector, a lever pivoted at one end to one of the guides and having a retaining dog cooperative with the notched sector of the other guide, and a link located between said guides and pivotally connecting said lever to said section whereby the same is raised and lowered and retained by said lever. 7

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses. r

: EUGENE PENNY. .Witnesses CHAS. S. HYER, J AMES'L. Nomus.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, ,by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, 10.0. I v g 

